B.C. Law Society to appeal court decision to accredit Christian law school

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      The debate over a B.C. Christian university's controversial law school is far from over.

      Trinity Western University, based in Langley, originally received accreditation from the Law Society of British Columbia for its proposed law school in April 2014.

      Members later reversed the decision in a referendum held in October 2014.

      On December 10, 2015, a B.C. Supreme Court judge restored the original accreditation, ruling that the referendum results did not adequately resolve the conflict between LGBT and religious rights. Debate about the school arose due to a covenant students must sign which prohibits any sexual activity outside of opposite-sex marriage.

      The latest development in the ongoing saga is that the B.C. law society is appealing last month's court decision.

      In a news release, the law society stated:

      "The Law Society is appealing on the grounds the Court erred in deciding the procedure followed by the Benchers was inappropriate, and erred in finding TWU was not afforded procedural fairness. The Law Society takes the position that it properly made the right decision in October 2014 concerning TWU and will seek to restore that decision."

      The law society plans to file detailed grounds for appeal within the next 30 days.

      Earl Philips, the executive director of TWU’s proposed law school, stated in a news release that the school is prepared to head back to court defend its students. 

      “The decision to approve a law school graduate must be based not on the personal views of society members, but on the law and evidence," he said. "For this reason, we believe the court will continue to rule in favour of TWU.”

      You can follow Craig Takeuchi on Twitter at twitter.com/cinecraig. You can also follow the Straight's LGBT coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/StraightLGBT or on Facebook.

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